Aviva PLC Buys 2,428 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $4,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $834,000. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 72.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 587,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $101,130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,000. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SPG. Stifel Nicolaus raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank set a $186.00 price target on Simon Property Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.39.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG stock opened at $153.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $171.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.55. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.34 and a 12 month high of $190.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. Equities research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc, the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries.